Thailand and China will jointly develop the DTI-1G MLRS rocket launcher with guidance system 3004121

Thailand
and China have agreed to jointly develop multiple rocket launchers DTI-1G
with a guidance system as part of a move to strengthen military ties.
The two sides reached the agreement during a visit to China by the Thai
military top brass in what was described by Defence Minister Sukumpol
Suwanatat as a call by "the whole family" to China which is
"our close relative".

The Thai DTI-1 is a 302mm MLRS Multiple Launch Rocket System based on
the Chinese-made WS-1 rocket launcher system.

It
is the first time in 15 years that a defence minister has led all key
military leaders ranging from the defence permanent secretary, supreme
commander and armed forces chiefs to meet Chinese senior military officers,
led by National Defence Minister Gen Liang Guanglie.

Under
the new agreement, the Thai Defence Technology Institute will work with
China to develop new multiple rocket launchers called "DTI-1G [Guided]"
which will be more accurate and have a greater range than existing systems,
said ACM Sukumpol after the meeting.

Multiple
rocket launchers are known for their devastating capabilities and ability
to deliver a large amount of ordinance simultaneously, but are not recognised
for precision because they are not usually equipped with a guidance system.

The DTI-1 multiple rocket launchers jointly developed by the Thai Defence
Ministry and China based to the Chinese-made Multiple Launch Rocket System
WS-1.

The first
systems of DTI-1 MLRS were delivered to the Thai army in january 2011.

The
new DTI-1G project will last three years and will be funded under a 1.5-billion-baht
budget, ACM Sukumpol said.

Gen
Liang also told the delegation that if Thailand wants to buy weapons from
China, it will be willing to sell them at "friendly prices",
ACM Sukumpol quoted Gen Liang as saying."The price of Chinese weaponry
has increased greatly recently. Arms are not as cheap as before so we
will have to consider this carefully," ACM Sukumpol said.

As
well as technological cooperation, the Thai and Chinese defence ministries
have also agreed to hold a joint military exercise involving their air
forces for the first time.

"We
will need to discuss more details of this because Thailand and China have
different military doctrines in the aviation area," ACM Sukumpol
said.

So
far the two countries have held joint military drills involving the army's
special warfare units and the navy's marine corps.

In
another demonstration of closer military ties, 130 officers from the Royal
Thai Navy Corps will participate in a joint exercise to be held in Guangdong
in southern China between May 9 and 29.